President Trump Says He's Definitely Open to 1900s Throwback Measure to Clean Up Streets

President Donald Trump made it clear he would be up for using a 1900s throwback measure by reopening state-run insane asylums to clean up the streets and deal with the people who have serious mental illness problems.

Speaking to The Daily Caller's Reagan Reese, Trump talked about the success of the crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., which led to a question about whether he would be open to the government reopening insane asylums to institutionalize mentally ill individuals.

"Yeah I would," President Trump told @reaganreese_ on being open to State-run insane asylums. He said used to be many in NY & CA, but they were closed. "They released them into society, and that’s what you have. It’s a rough, it’s a rough situation." https://t.co/M1qFWsK6g0
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) September 1, 2025

Big: Trump Administration Takes Control of the District of Columbia

"Yeah, I would," Trump explained. "Well, they used to have them, and you never saw people like we had, you know, they used to have them. And what happened is states like New York and California that had them, New York had a lot of them."

"They released them all into society because they couldn't afford it," he added. "You know, it's massively expensive. But we had, they were all over New York. I remember when I was growing up, Creedmoor. They had a place, Creedmoor, they had a lot of them, Bellevue, and they were closed by a certain governor."

"And I remember when they did, it was a long time ago, and I said they didn't release these people? And they did," the president continued. "They released them into society, and that's what you have. It's a rough, it's a rough situation."

The reporter pressed how soon President Trump might be looking into this option, and the following was the exchange:

TRUMP: Why is that a big thing? People are thinking about that?
REESE: Well –
TRUMP: Because, you can't have these people walking around.
REESE: I mean, what do you do with them? You know?
TRUMP: So dangerous, so dangerous. And they can live to be 85 years old.

ALSO: Trump EO Could Help Solve Las Vegas' Devastating Homeless Crisis

Trump Drops Ultimatum to Homeless in D.C.: You Only Have Two Options

The comments came after President Trump made good on another campaign promise in July when he signed the "ENDING CRIME AND DISORDER ON AMERICA'S STREETS" Executive Order, which aims to restore "public order" to cities and remove homeless individuals from the streets by enforcing no urban camping, urban squatting, and loitering, among others, RedState reported.

The report read:

"The number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration -- 274,224 -- was the highest ever recorded," a White House press release read. "The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both."
In one section it focused on ending the "housing first" policies of numerous blue states like California, New York, Oregon, Washington, etc. that "deprioritize accountability" and fail to "promote treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency; increasing competition among grantees through broadening the applicant pool; and holding grantees to higher standards of effectiveness in reducing homelessness and increasing public safety."

🚨NEW—OPTIONS FOR DC HOMELESS:
-Homeless shelters
-Addiction/mental health services

Refusal to leave encampment could mean fines/jail time.

"[D.C. Code 221307 & D.C. Municipal Reg 24100] are pre existing laws that are already on the books. They just have NOT been enforced." 📢 pic.twitter.com/KqQp5XKonf
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 12, 2025

In August, the White House followed up that EO with the announcement that the homeless in D.C. have only two options: Go into a shelter or go to jail, RedState reported.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.

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